I just finished this movie and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am quite aware though that it received quite mixed reviews.
I’m just curious to see what caused people to dislike it
Shyamalan gives fans of Unbreakable and Split the finger by giving them a thoroughly disappointing anti-cliimax. That's how.
shareIt's boring and convoluted. Like, how do you make something so mixed up so dull?
shareSaw it last night and was super-unimpressed. Disappointing after the promise of Split...
i. Pacing
The pacing was glacial even by the standards of Shyamalan. We're talking 'The Happening' levels of stupifying inaction. Action isn't Shyamalan's thing, but most of his movies show that he has a skill for generating suspense. Not a hint of it here.
ii. The premise.
IIRC from Unbreakable, super-powered people are rare enough that Glass had to concoct an elaborate plan -- the train wreck -- to reveal David Dunn. Now, we learn that they are common enough that a whole secret society exists to exterminate them? So, are they common or not? If they are common, then the leaked Internet video at the end shouldn't come as a surprise to the world at large. If they aren't common, then why does this secret society exist and/or how do they identify these supers?
iii. Lame twisty ending.
Assuming that super-powered people aren't that common, or are mostly unknown, Glass' ultimate plan still wouldn't have nearly the impact that the dramatic train station scene and swelling music would suggest.
This is the age of the Internet where a couple of kids at home can generate and post a realistic video clip of giant eagles snatching babies from parks, space shuttles landing on highways in the middle of major cities, etc. A video clip of a couple of guys pushing each other around, or turning over a car isn't going to get much traction. Most people would dismiss it as fake, if they even paid any attention to it at all. I'd probably wouldn't even give the youtube thumbnail more than a glance.
iv. Inconsistent / illogical.
The Beast looks terrifying, but when we see him in action, he's pretty underwhelming. He throws a table early on. Thirty seconds of squeezing a guy to death? The guy gets a constipated look, grunts and finally just dies. Boring. A punch to the back of the head, or even crushing his head would have been more efficient. Strictly from a directing pov it would have looked more dramatic and indicative of his power.
The final battle between Dunn and the Beast is mostly just a pushing match, akin to two drunk guys outside the bar at 2 in the morning. Again, underwhelming. I wasn't expecting Marvel or DC levels of destruction and mayhem, but some creativity or imagination was needed here to portray these guys as truly super-powered and a genuine threat to humanity.
The how's and why's of David Dunn's 'kryptonite' -- water -- have always been a little fuzzy. If water contact itself leaves him weaker than human, then how did he grow up showering and bathing and not wondering about this condition? If it's the fear of water and/or drowning that leaves him weaker than human, then once he's out of the situation, he should recover quickly. In the original Unbreakable, he nearly dies in the swimming pool, but once he makes it to the edge and climbs out, he's immediately fine. Here he's strong enough to break out of a tank while submerged, but THEN can't muster enough strength to not get dragged over to a puddle and drowned? Hmmmm... I'm not buying that.
"The final battle between Dunn and the Beast is mostly just a pushing match, akin to two drunk guys outside the bar at 2 in the morning. Again, underwhelming. I wasn't expecting Marvel or DC levels of destruction and mayhem, but some creativity or imagination was needed here to portray these guys as truly super-powered and a genuine threat to humanity."
This right here. The choreography was weak. Luke Cage gave some good examples of how to make a fight entertaining, even if the characters are not skilled fighters.
"The how's and why's of David Dunn's 'kryptonite' -- water -- have always been a little fuzzy. If water contact itself leaves him weaker than human, then how did he grow up showering and bathing and not wondering about this condition? If it's the fear of water and/or drowning that leaves him weaker than human, then once he's out of the situation, he should recover quickly. In the original Unbreakable, he nearly dies in the swimming pool, but once he makes it to the edge and climbs out, he's immediately fine. Here he's strong enough to break out of a tank while submerged, but THEN can't muster enough strength to not get dragged over to a puddle and drowned? Hmmmm... I'm not buying that."
Amen, this bothered me too.
Wouldn't the fact that the secret society intentionally suppressed the existence of super heroes make it very difficult to find them?
shareYes, I would assume so. The whole concept behind this movie wasn't very well thought out.
If supers are in hiding/keeping a low profile or otherwise making themselves scarce, then they are hardly a threat are they? Kind of like ebola, they are never truly eradicated, but they aren't worth worrying about until they reveal themselves.
Even when they reveal themselves, it's hardly a big deal. After nineteen years, David Dunn's superhero modus operandi is to go out every few days for a walk, follow street level thugs and rough them up (kill them?)? The Horde kidnap a few girls periodically? More kids are killed in mass shootings than this every week. As portrayed in these movies, supers are hardly the existential threat to humanity that the secret society seems to think they are.
I think Watchmen and The Incredibles did much better jobs of exploring this theme than this lame movie.
I'll give you, its no watchmen, but that pulled from what is arguably obe of the best comics ever. I don't disagree that there are flaws, but i enjoyed it regardless. The problem with making superheroes work in the real world, us they actually don't work that well in the real world. I can justify sone of ypur complaints with some loose logic, but the execution could have been better. I think MNS keeping the rules "loose" is exactly his exit loophole. I haven't rewatched yet, and I'm curious what I'll think. Still better than justice league.
share"The problem with making superheroes work in the real world, us they actually don't work that well in the real world."
It's for this reason that my favourite cinematic comic heroes are Batman, Daredevil, Punisher, etc. They are essentially just human beings with costumes and superior skills. Nothing 'super' about them per se. They are realistic (or as realistic as you can get in a Hollywood movie) and face human scale moral dilemmas.
I enjoy the spectacle of big budget superhero movies, but they don't engage me as much for the reason you state above. Superheroes such as Thor, Superman, Hulk, etc are a conundrum. When you're a god living among mere humans, why would you even care about their puny problems? You might live among them out of a sense of curiosity and amusement, but their day-to-day issues would be of little concern to you.
Think of what happened when Europeans overran North America. They didn't feel any empathy or obligation to the local natives. The only time they gave them any consideration was when they were troublesome in which case they are exterminated, or imprisoned. Now multiply that situation 1000 fold when it comes to superheroes.
In this movie, Shyalaman seemed like he was trying to have it both ways. Small scale heroes but posing a world threat a la Superman and company. It resulted in a very schizophrenic movie.